Phil De Fries made short work of ‘The Colossus’ at Bellator 191.
A couple of long-tenured vets in the heavyweight division collided at Bellator 191, airing on Spike TV Saturday night. The card, headlined by bantamweight signing Michael McDonald against Peter Ligier, went down in Newcastle, England. Kicking off the main card, Thompson vs. De Fries promised a big finish. It got just that.
De Fries, who went 2-3 in the UFC from 2011-2013, had been working his way through the regional scene in recent years. 4-3 since his exit from the UFC after a loss to Matt Mitrione, the English submission specialist entered Bellator 191 off a win over Anton Vyazigin in M-1.
Thompson, meanwhile, had not fought since a pair of losses roughly a month apart in 2015, to Bobby Lashley at Bellator 145, and Tsuyohsi Kosaka at RIZIN FF 1.
Phil De Fries was making his Bellator MMA debut in the bout.
Thompson pressed forward early, but was immediately taken down by De Fries. De Fries worked over Thompson along the fence, as ‘The Colossus’ made his way back up. He risked giving up the back, but instead looked for a takedown of his own. De Fries then pulled guard with a guillotine locked in! He held on, and with Thompson caught, the tap came shortly after. Phil De Fries had another submission victory, this time in his Bellator debut.
Phil De Fries def. James Thompson by submission (guillotine choke), Round 1, 1:33
